Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci

Houston Grand Opera gives us a musical twofer with a pair of verismo operas

In opening its new season, the Houston Grand Opera is doing away with epics, opting instead for a pair of verismo operas, known for portraying the (sometimes unsavory) events of everyday life. The first is Cavalleria rusticana, Pietro Mascagni's tale of passion, revenge and seduction. The one-act opera, which premiered in 1890, recounts what happens when a young Sicilian villager returns home from the military to find that his fiancé has married someone else (hint: it's not good). Singing her signature role of Santuzza is Dolora Zajick, considered by many to be the country's finest mezzo-soprano.